004 - Capture Your Vision!

CAPTURE YOUR VISION!

By Rodney W. Francis.

RECENTLY I HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED BY the following sayings, which came to me earIy one morning. These sayings have caused me to think at length about the fulfilling of the vision, I believe, God has given me. I share these sayings and thoughts with you, with the prayer that you will be able to more fully capture the vision of God for you, and bring it into reality to bless many more people. God wants all Christians to be motivated, enthused and captivated by a "heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19), for that is the way we overcome all the negativites and obstacles that seek to block our path and progress.

“Where there is no revelation (“prophetic vision”), the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law” (NKJV).

“Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint . . . ” (New Revised Standard Version).

“Where there is no vision, the people perish . . . ” (KJV).

Vision is very important for our own spiritual well being. Without vision a process of “decay and perishing” takes place within the heart and life of the Christian believer – right now in the present (we're either going forward or backward). Vision inspires, motivates and lifts us into the realm where God is able to come through in our lives. A person of vision not only motivates and inspires himself, but also inspires others to rise to greater achievements and fulfilment in God! Prophetic vision makes us all the more sure of success when we have that inspiration from the Holy Spirit as to what He has called us to be, do and fulfil in this life. Take heed to the prophetic words spoken over your life! They are not “automatic” in being fulfilled – they have to be believed, yielded to, and acted upon in faith. Capture your vision!

How real is your vision?

Does it personally motivate you into action?

How committed are you to the vision that God has given to you?

Here's another challenge I felt the Holy Spirit gave to me:

Are we reading the recipe, or producing the cake?

Habakkuk 2:2-3 –“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (NKJV). And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by.For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfilment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day [Hebrews 10:37-38]” (AMP. Bible).

Vision:

The word “vision” comes from the Hebrew word “chazon” (noun – used 34 times) which “almost always signifies a means of divine revelation. It refers to the means itself, to a prophetic ‘vision’ by which divine messages are communicated. The word represents the message received by prophetic ‘vision.’ It can represent the entirety of a prophetic or prophet’s message as it is written down.” (No wonder Habakkuk was told to write it down.)

Personally in helping us to know what we are called to do. We cannot be “workers together with God” (2 Corinthians 6:1) if we do not know what He wants us to work at!

Vision demands that we often have to make decisions and commitments to things that are not yet seen. Spiritual vision is unseen, and precedes that which later becomes “seen.” That is why the visionary must have a clear insight and understanding of what the vision is for and what it is about. Writing it down and talking about it helps to clarify it in our own heart and mind. It is very important that we are able to personally "capture" the vision when it comes. God gives us vision in the invisible realm. It is then our responsibility to capture that invisible vision and bring it out into the visible realm where others can see what we have been seeing all along. A vision is of no use until it has been captured and translated into a physical, working reality. Until that happens we are really only "reading the recipe" rather than "producing the cake." If we do not capture that invisible vision, then it will not be fulfilled - neither we, nor other people, will get the ultimate benefits of what that vision is all about. Many visions never come to fulfilment because they are not captured and translated into the realm of the "seen" world - that world where others can see, grasp, then understand and get the benefits of such a vision. True vision should always be worked through into reality to benefit other people.

Moses was a great faith man because he was able to "see Him Who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27), and by faith capture, then translate it into the realm of a physical, “seen by others” outworking. That's where endurance has to play a vital part. It is still the same principle today. Vision is not "automatic" in fulfilling itself. It has to be accepted, believed, yielded to, given over to (commitment), worked on, clarified in our own hearts, shared with others when they cannot see anything, then by faith brought to reality because of our love and trust in Jesus!

Abraham had a vision. When childless, God gave him the promise of a family as many as “the stars in heaven and the sand on the sea shore.” For at least 25 years he held on to the vision, with no physical evidence that he had heard from God. He would have been the butt of jokes and ridicule as he testified to the fact that he was going to have a son. The older he got the more hopeless the vision seemed. But in Genesis 21:1-7 and 22:15-19 we see the fulfilment of that vision. Isaac was born, exactly as he was promised!

Joseph dreamed a dream (Genesis Chapters 37 to 50). His own brothers did not believe him. They even turned on him and “sold him out” to the Egyptians in order to get rid of him. Why? Because they were jealous of the dream he was declaring! They had no dream for their own lives, yet they persecuted the one who did! Yet we all know that in time Joseph rose to become a great leader and “saviour” of the people because of his holding on to the dream he dreamed when still a very young man. That dream enabled him to “save and preserve” even those who did not believe his dream in years gone by!

The Apostle Paul was given a heavenly vision on the day of his conversion to Jesus Christ(Acts 9, 22 & 26). Most were not convinced about his vision. Some even avoided him to start with. His life was often a lonely one, as one after the other could not keep up with the fervour of his commitment to the cause of Jesus Christ. Yet he stands today as one of the greatest Christian leaders and examples of all time! He fulfilled his vision! Millions of Christians down through the generations have greatly benefited from Paul’s vision and life!

Things have not changed too much today. Visionaries and dreamers are still laughed at today. That is why our vision has to be strong enough, and clear enough, and motivate us enough, so we will rise above the petty jealousies of our own brethren. Nothing - and no one – can stand in the way of a vision being fulfilled, providing we have it properly birthed within our own heart and life and are prepared to capture it, and commit to it, regardless of what others might say – or even how we feel at times. Right now:

What do you see?

What do you see of the God-factor in your life?

Do you see your potential when you carry - and live for – the revelation/vision ofGod to you?

How far along are you with the vision?

Are you capturing the vision and translating it into reality?

We must have more than a recipe, or a theory, in order to fulfil a vision. We must be motivated by the conviction that God has spoken and called us to fulfil a destiny. That demands a commitment to faith and believing that what God has promised to us, He is also able to fulfil in and through us as we will give ourselves to that “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19).

Capture your vision! Bring it into reality! Remember:

A vision that is real produces a faith that works!

It is the producing of the cake that feeds the people – not the recipe!